A Guest Post about Stepping Into New Surroundings

Hey, everybody! I’m really excited to have a lot of good guest posts lined up for the coming weeks, and I’m going to kick them off with one from Deb. Deb is adelightful blogger I met in Lincoln via the social media scene (Lincoln totally has a social media scene, by the way) and I wish I would have met her sooner. As it turns out, both of us ended up moving away from Lincoln, and have found ourselves adjusting to life in a new city…and we’ve both realized that you’ve simply got to just Step In to your new surroundings if you want to enjoy them. This, of course, breeds fodder for a perfect guest post…so grab a cuppa of whatever you please, enjoy the post, and please leave some comments for Deb!

Shortly after we found out we were moving to Minnesota, we took a road trip up north to look for houses. One of the first houses we pulled up to had wood siding falling off the front of the garage and shingles peeling off the roof so bad that you could almost see the attic. I convinced myself it was okay because I wasn’t a fan of yellow siding, so it would have to be fixed anyways. Besides, it might be dreamy inside. Maybe the house had a stunning entryway with a spiral staircase or a master bedroom that was so phenomenal that I would never want to leave it’s awesomeness! Then a mouse came out to greet us as the Realtor was attempting to open the lock box. I looked at the Realtor and said, “We have to go. This isn’t the house for us.” The next house and the house after that weren’t much better. It was a defeating day and it left my husband and I wondering what the heck we had done.

We had a pair of Realtors working with us and we were pretty sure they were life partners as well as business partners. I was so happy to have a distraction the entire time we were house hunting with them.

“Do you think they’re more than business partners? They do share a car after all,” I would ask my husband.

My husband would say, “What did you think of that red house? Do you think 3 bedrooms is enough? And what do you think about that yard?”

I’d say, “And they live downtown. In a condo. Doesn’t that say something?”

It was perfect for me and kept my mind off the ugly red 3 bedroom house with a pitiful yard. The second day of our house hunting trip, we took our Realtors to no land they’d ever seen before. We took them 30 minutes southwest of the city to a small town called Waconia. We entered the city and were immediately in love. Our Realtors thought we were crazy— who lives outside the city?! Peshaw! (See I told you there was something there…) Waconia has a huge lake and tons of character. It’s like a town you’d see on a movie. Kind of like Desperate Housewives, but without all the drama. It’s cute and perfect. And it has a Target to boot. That’s when I was sold.

We found our cute 3 bedroom home with a nice yard and with a fully intact roof and siding. We put in an offer and all was well. Then we realized that the easiest part of our moving adventure was over. We still had to spend 6 weeks apart… which meant I had to be a single parent to a 4 month old and 3 year old boys (and a crazy dog too). That was the hardest part of the entire process and I remember driving over the weekend with the boys to come see my husband just so I could get a full night’s rest and a couple hours with down time. It was so exhausting.

Fast forward to the move. We moved at the perfect time… April. The snow was melting and the weather was beautiful. We’ve been outside ever since we moved. I know the winters are rough here so I’ve been absorbing as much Vitamin D as possible. Shortly after we moved and the “honeymoon” was over, I was sad. I missed my family, friends and the wonderful community of Lincoln, Nebraska. Like Lauren’s husband, my husband is busy. He is working more than full time and going to school for his MBA. Most weeks we are lucky if we see him a couple nights a week. Life was really lonely for awhile and I knew I had to get out and meet people. After all, I wanted to treat Minnesota as my new home. When I lived in Lincoln, I had friends with husbands that attended law school and sometimes they would have the “we’ll only be here three years” so what’s the point of getting to know anyone or figuring Lincoln out? It drove me completely nuts. I so wished they’d explore what Lincoln had to offer and give it a chance. So that’s exactly what I’ve done in little old Waconia. I have no idea how long we’ll be here—- 3 years… 5 years, or maybe forever. Who knows. It’s a small city, but I’ve definitely fallen in love.

The move forced me to downsize my overly active lifestyle and figure out the importance of motherhood. Duh, right?! I’ve know motherhood was important all along, but I always wanted an escape. An escape from the 2 year old throwing tantrums, an escape from a nursing baby, an escape from cooking a meal no one would eat. So I started filling my life with little escapes and before you knew it, I had over-filled my plate. So the move has forced a much needed clearing of my plate and my mission is to keep it that way. I’ve realized that there are seasons to motherhood. Rough patches, patches of bliss where you don’t want to miss a moment, and patches of in between. The rough patches don’t last forever, even if it sometimes feel like they do. I want to be present as a mother and not filling my life with little escapes. I do, however, still want a little escape, so I’ve met a lot of different friends through working out, church and walking our neighborhood religiously. It’s amazing how many people you can meet tagging along two kids and a dog. I’m hoping the winter won’t be so bad and we’ll have plenty of play dates in the snow.

The only thing I can’t figure out is grocery shopping around here. Everything is so expensive and I have to use the ads to shop. By that I mean you physically have to cut out the grocery store coupons. I thought that was so 10 years ago, but apparently they like slowing me down at the checkout with 2 screaming kids. Who knows…I guess if that’s the least of my problems I have it pretty good.